St. Louis Urgent Care

St. Louis Urgent Care

St. Louis Urgent Care is
dedicated to helping patients in
need of immediate health care
locate Ugent Care Centers,
Convenience Care Clinics (RetailClinics)
and private doctors who offer
walk in appointments and same
day doctor visits in the St. Louis area.

St. Louis Urgent Care
will help patients seeking
immediate care understand the
differences between urgent care
centers, retail clinics and
physicians willing to see same
day patient appointments in
St. Louis in order to
assist them in determining where
to obtain appropriate care.
Finding a doctor in
St. Louis willing to
accept same day appointments can
be difficult.
St. Louis Urgent Care
will serve as a directory to
help patients locate these same
day doctors in
St. Louis and obtain
access to care.

The common thread to all three
of these medical establishments
is immediate access to health
care. A survey released in
August 2008 found that 73
percent of people said they had
difficulty getting access to
their doctor when they needed
to. Thirty percent of those
surveyed reported that it was
hard to get a next-day
appointment when they were sick.
Sixty percent said it was
difficult to get care from their
personal doctor on weekends or
in the evening. Greater than 40
percent of respondents said
that, even during regular
business hours, they had trouble
getting advice from their doctor
on the telephone. Urgent care
centers, Retail Clinics and
private doctors offering same
day appointments throughout St. Louis focus on improving
health care access to patients
with immediate need.

Although there in no nationally
accepted definition of what
exactly is an urgent care
center, their scope of services
falls between the primary care
doctors office and the emergency
room. Urgent Care centers offer
acute, non-emergent care
emphasizing customer service.
Most St. Louis Urgent Care
centers offer walk in visits,
extended weekday and weekend
hours as well as expanded
services compared to primary
care doctors offices.

Many services provided in St. Louis Urgent Care centers
are offered in primary care
doctor's offices. In addition
they usually include on site
radiology, as well as laceration
repair, administration of
intravenous fluids, occupational
health care, on site laboratory
testing and on site medication
dispensing.

The first urgent care centers in
the United States opened in the
1980's and that number has grown
to more than 12,000 to 20,000
centers today. Although most
Urgent Care centers accept
patients of all ages some
specialize only in pediatric
patients.

For a national directory of urgent care centers and medical offices offering same day visits
please seewww.locateurgentcare.com.

According to the Convenient Care
Association Convenient Care
Clinics are small health care
facilities located in convenient
settings accessible to the
public. They provide non-
emergency services to walk-in
patients, regardless of
insurance status, at affordable
prices seven days a week.
Convenient Care Clinics are
primarily staffed by advanced
practice nurses, including nurse
practitioners. Convenient Care
Clinics may also be staffed by
physician assistants and/or
physicians. Convenient Care
Clinics provide quality care for
common episodic ailments, as
well as immunizations,
physicals, and health
screenings. As of November 2007,
there were close to 800
Convenient Care Clinics in the
United States. This number is
predicted to grow to 1500 by the
end of 2008.

Their scope of services are
extremely limited compared to
both Urgent Care centers and
physicians offices who accept
walk in patients. These sites
are not designed to address
urgent issues. Lacerations and
minor fractures for example
would not be cared for in these
Convenience Care Clinic
settings. Much like Urgent Care
centers, continuity of care with
patient follow up is not a
primary focus of these Retail
Clinics.

Below is a list of St. Louis Convenience
Care Clinics /Retail Clinics

Private physicians offices
offering same day appointments:

Many private physicians in
both primary care and various
specialties throughout St. Louis have begun to
recognize the need for providing
immediate access to patients in
need of urgent and less urgent
immediate medical care. The
services offered by these
private physicians varies from
doctor to doctor and is
consistent with the services
customarily offered in their
office. Some of these St. Louis doctors
have established their practice
as a Concierge medical practice.
In doing so they limit their
patient volume and provide
immediate access in exchange for
a yearly fee. Other physicians
have added extended office hours
and employed
Physician Assistants and nurse
practitioners to assist in
immediate patient care.

The obvious advantage is that
patients receive continuity of
care from their private
physicians with whom they
already have an established
relationship.

This immediate care directory of
Urgent Care centers is provided for
those who wish to locate medical
establishments who market themselves
as accepting same day appointments
or walk in visits for non emergent
care. Each of the listed Urgent Care
centers, Convenience Clinics, and
private doctor offices have
self-identified as accepting same
day appointments or walk in visits.
Names, locations, and office phone
numbers are provided when
available. Although every effort is
made to ensure that the information
provided is complete and up-to-date,
we cannot guarantee the accuracy of
the information at any given time.

This website does not specifically
endorse the individuals or practices
listed in this directory. In no
event shall owners of or
contributors to this website be
liable for decisions made or actions
taken by those who use the
information provided in this
directory.

Your reliance upon information,
content or advice obtained by you at
or through this website / directory
is solely at your own risk. Owners
of or contributors to this website
do not assume any liability or
responsibility for damage or injury
(including death) to you, other
persons or property arising from any
use of any product, information,
idea or instruction contained within
the content or services provided to
you.